Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
WARS ON IRAN, LEBANON – NEWS & HEADLINES:
Why is If Americans Knew covering the war on Iran? It can not be overemphasized that Israel has been the impetus behind US policies and actions vis-a-vis Iran for years. This is especially true right now, under Donald Trump. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing the US to attack Iran for decades.
The American people have made clear that they do not want to go to war with Iran, but Israel partisans and the Israel lobby use their massive political clout to bring about whatever is beneficial to Israel – including putting the US military in harm’s way. For more background on Israel’s role in American wars, watch IAK’s short film, “The Israeli Hit List.”
DEATH TOLL (all numbers are tentative):
- 13 US troops have been killed since the war on Iran began, with 290 injured.
- In Israel, 18 people have been killed and 3,727 injured.
- In Iran, 1,500 people have reportedly been killed since the conflict began (240 children).
- In Lebanon, at least 1,072 people have been killed (at least 118 of them children, 79 women, and 40 healthcare workers).
- In other Arab states (including Palestine), at least 89 people have been killed.
ISRAEL-US WAR ON IRAN:
What’s new (BBC summary):
- Iran has received a 15-point peace plan from the US according to reports from Pakistan, which is acting as an intermediary
- UPDATE: Iran has rejected Trump’s plan
- The plan – which has not been made public – reportedly includes Iran dismantling nuclear facilities, in exchange for the lifting of sanctions
- An Israeli minister tells the BBC the plan is “beautiful on paper” – but adds Iran is “probably” unlikely to agree to it; Israeli officials, who have been advocating for President Donald Trump to continue the war against Iran, were reportedly surprised by the submission of a ceasefire plan
- Earlier, a spokesman for Iran’s military said the US was “negotiating with itself”, adding: “Someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you”
- On Tuesday, Donald Trump insisted Iran wants a deal “so badly” – saying Iran gave the US a “very big present worth a tremendous amount of money”
- Meanwhile, Iran’s mission to the UN says “non-hostile vessels” can pass through the Strait of Hormuz – some ships from China, India and Pakistan have already been passing through the vital waterway
Trump’s 15-point ceasefire plan takes Israel by surprise: Israeli officials, who have been advocating for President Donald Trump to continue the war against Iran, were reportedly surprised by the submission of a ceasefire plan. Israel doubts Iran will agree to Trump’s demands.
RECOMMENDED: US-Iran mediation: What are each side’s demands – and is a deal possible?
How many US troops are in the Middle East? The U.S. already has 50,000 troops in the region. The Japan-based USS Tripoli and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit have been ordered to the Middle East, adding about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region; the Pentagon is also preparing to deploy about 3,000 additional troops from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.
US Troops Are Being Told to ‘Get Ready’ to Invade Iran (Zeteo video): There’s a ‘1000% increase’ in troops trying to conscientiously object, Mike Prysner of the Center on Conscience and War tells Prem. Watch interview here.
Iran trained in ‘asymmetrical warfare’ for two decades waiting for US troops: Defense official
Saudi Crown Prince Pushes US Toward Iran Ground Invasion – with US troops, US funding: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman— MBS—is reportedly pushing Trump to launch a ground invasion of Iran with the objective of toppling its current government, arguing that the war on Iran offers a “historic opportunity” to reshape the Middle East. Saudi officials denied any such lobbying.
Iran rejects US envoys* in mediation talks, questions their credibility: Iran has expressed strong reservations about, does not trust or want Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner involved in future negotiations. Tehran reportedly indicated that it would favor indirect communication through third parties rather than engaging with figures it does not trust.
*NOTE: Before working with the Trump administration, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and crypto-bitcoin partner Steve Witkoff had no prior experience as diplomats, as well as numerous outside business interests that would normally be disqualifying.
Iran still focused on Palestine: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly warned on Tuesday that if Israel continued to carry out “continued crimes against civilians in Lebanon and Palestine,” it would wage “heavy missile and drone attacks” at Israeli troops in northern Israel and the area near Gaza “without restraint.”
‘War has costs’: Iran begins charging select vessels up to $2m for Hormuz transit: Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the toll reflects Tehran’s assertion of control after decades of established norms governing the passage, norms now upended by the Israeli-US attack on Iran.
Energy industry insider in Iran tells me the following, and it is STUNNING:
Before the war, Iran produced just shy of 1.1mn barrels of oil per day, and sold it at $65 per barrel minus $18 discount (i.e. $47)
Today, it produces 1.5mn barrels a day, and sells it at $110 with…
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) March 23, 2026
Iran says 230 students, teachers killed since start of Israeli-US attacks
UNICEF: 87 children killed or injured every day: A UNICEF spokesperson said this week that since the escalation of fighting in the Middle East, “More than 2,100 children have been killed or injured, including 206 children killed in Iran and 118 in Lebanon*. Four children were killed in Israel and one in Kuwait. These are reported figures, and they are expected to rise as the violence continues. That is an average of approximately 87 children either killed or injured every day since the beginning of the war.”
*NOTE: The statistics on child casualties clearly show that the Israel-US coalition is far deadlier for children (and by extension, civilians) than Iran. Still, Netanyahu points to Iran as a murderous regime that targets civilians. During Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, the Israeli military has admitted, and Israeli media has reported, that at times, over 80% of those killed in Gaza were uninvolved civilians.
Iran says 94 ambulances, 17 aid bases targeted in Israeli-US attacks: Red Crescent Society says attacks also hit 3 helicopters, other rescue vehicles
Iran says 114 cultural and historic sites damaged in Israeli-US attacks: Among damaged sites are 48 museums and 6 historic urban areas, Ministry of Cultural Heritage says, adding that any military action that results in the destruction of or damage to cultural heritage is a clear violation of international obligations and a direct threat to humanity’s historical memory.
Over 82,000 civilian targets struck in Iran: Over 82,000 civilian targets have been hit in Israeli-US attacks on Iran since the start of the war, according to the head of the Iranian Red Crescent.
Israeli-US Attacks Have Damaged Nearly 500 Schools, 300 Health Centers in Iran
Iran reports attacks on its power, nuclear facilities in spite of Trump’s promise: After US President Trump announced on Monday that attacks on Iranian power plants would be halted for the next five days, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said that US and Israel attacked the vicinity of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday evening. Iranian media also said that US and Israeli strikes targeted two gas facilities and a pipeline in the country.
ISRAEL’S WAR ON LEBANON:
The Lebanese Health Ministry said a 15-year-old boy was killed and another person wounded during an Israeli military raid in southern Lebanon early Tuesday. There was no comment from the Israeli army.
Israel announces territorial seizure* in Lebanon up to Litani River: Israel will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River to create a “defensive buffer,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday, spelling out for the first time Israel’s intent to seize territory amounting to nearly a tenth of Lebanon. On Monday, influential Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel should annex southern Lebanon up to the river.
*NOTE: Territory is considered occupied when it is placed under the authority and control of the hostile army. “Annexation” is acquiring territory by force and is a flagrant violation of international law. As such it can have no effect on the legal status of the territory, which remains de jure occupied.
Israel using ‘Gaza playbook’ in Lebanon, destroying water infrastructure: Oxfam: Israel’s military blueprint of attacking water infrastructure, used throughout its genocide in the Gaza Strip, is now being rolled out across parts of Lebanon, Oxfam said Tuesday. Israeli forces are destroying water and sanitation infrastructure, including strikes near sites that were being rehabilitated after having been destroyed or damaged in the last war. “Any intentional deprivation of water or obstruction of aid may constitute a war crime,” said Oxfam.
Israel plans to call up 400,000 reservists amid possible expansion of Lebanon offensive
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM GAZA:
(For some basic info on the Palestine-Israel conflict, go here. For more critical context, skim this, this, and this. To read about a remarkable but underreported, 20-month-long peaceful protest in Gaza against Israel, go here.
While a “ceasefire” is ostensibly in place, Israel has continued its assault on Gaza without interruption. If Americans Knew considers the war to be ongoing, and in its 888th day. Since the “ceasefire” began on October 11, Israel has killed at least 687 Palestinians. Over 1,813 have been injured. Death toll figures are tentative. Israel has so far violated the 11 October ceasefire deal in Gaza at least 1,620 times (as of Feb. 1, 2026). More statistics below.
A Palestinian child was killed, and several residents were injured on Tuesday after Israeli occupation forces opened fire in multiple areas across the devastated Gaza Strip. Medical sources confirmed the death of Khaled Saifuddin Arada, 13, who was shot by Israeli forces while inside his family’s tent in the al‑Mawasi district of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
UN experts urge Israel to free Gaza doctor amid reports of ‘severe torture’: “[Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya] has been systematically denied critical medical examination and treatment, and deprived of essential care to such an extent that his life, health, and wellbeing have been gravely endangered,” according to two UN rapporteurs.
Palestinians struggle as Gaza endures severe fuel and gas shortages: Gaza’s gas supplies dwindle, with families waiting months for minimal quantities amid Israeli-induced shortages. The price per kilowatt-hour has increased from about 2.5 shekels ($0.80) to between 20 and 30 shekels ($7 and $10) – nearly 10 times higher – placing it beyond the reach of many households.
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM:
Every day, Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem endure dozens of incidents like the ones below, at the hands of Israeli soldiers and/or settlers. For background on the West Bank, read this and this. For information on the significance of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, read this and this.)
How Israel’s strangulation of the West Bank is collapsing the Palestinian educational system: The Israeli occupation is instigating an economic collapse in the West Bank, forcing public schools to operate only three days a week. Teachers and parents say an entire generation is being denied the right to education.
Deadly missile strike in West Bank highlights lack of protection for Palestinians*: Threatened by Iranian fire and falling debris, Palestinians hear air raid sirens from settlements, but most have nowhere to go for cover, and few know how to deal with danger.
*NOTE: This is just one of many examples of Israel’s apartheid framework, which extends in various forms across Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and inside Israel (where 21% of residents are Palestinian). Multiple human rights organizations have documented and reported that Israel is indeed practicing apartheid, including: Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Israeli human rights groups B’Tselem, and Yesh Din, and more.
‘Erasing the lines’: How settler outposts are seizing new regions of the West Bank: After decades consolidating their control over Area C, Israeli settlers are expanding into Areas B and A — nominally under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction — and displacing communities, a joint investigation reveals.
When Israel attacks Palestinians, it’s not about religion: Palestinian-American human rights lawyer Jonathan Kuttab told Anadolu, “Attacks against Christians are mostly attacks against Palestinians, whether they are Muslim or Christian,” he said. “What Gaza has taught them is that the world does not care, is that they can do whatever they want with impunity.”
Israeli Forces Abduct Dozens in West Bank Invasions
Army Issues Demolition Orders for Seven Homes in Qalandia
Israeli Colonizers Torch Palestinian Home in Masafer Yatta
Israeli Army Abducts Workers, Destroys Vehicle in Hebron
More Israeli Invasions, Colonizer Attacks Across the West Bank
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM ISRAEL:
(Israel is a tiny country, about the size of New Jersey, with a population smaller than the US state of Georgia – about 10 million (of which about 20 percent are Palestinians), yet it is in the news constantly. As has been demonstrated again and again, however, mainstream media rarely covers Israel accurately. IAK gets the facts – sometimes from Israeli media sites, where we can get a glimpse inside this country that is rife with turmoil and contradictions, and that receives $63 million a day from America.)
Israel’s Bedouin community open homes to victims of Dimona, Arad strike: After an Iranian missile destroyed residential buildings in the Israeli cities of Dimona and Arad, wounding over 100 people, Israel’s Palestinian Bedouin community rushed to local Facebook groups to offer their homes, food, and messages of solidarity.
Israeli forces raid Syria’s* Quneitra, detain 2 young men: Israeli forces staged two raids into Quneitra in southern Syria on Tuesday and detained two shepherds, in the latest violation of the Arab country’s sovereignty.
*NOTE: Although Israel is not at war with Syria, the Israeli army has carried out over 1,000 airstrikes and 400 cross-border raids on Syria since December 2024, killing approximately 30 Syrians. The situation appears to meet the criteria for occupation.
MORE NEWS & HEADLINES:
Insurgent campaign aims to oust Ohio Democratic incumbent Greg Landsman over unquestioning support for Israel: Damon Lynch IV is vying to unseat AIPAC-favorite Greg Landsman in Ohio’s upcoming May 5 primary, aiming to make the race a referendum on the incumbent’s support for Israel. Recent trends in the Democratic Party suggest he might have a winning case.
UN Rapporteur calls for massive intervention on behalf of Palestinians: Francesca Albanese said in Geneva that Israel “has effectively been given a license to torture Palestinians because most [UN] governments, your ministers, have allowed it.” She added, “I have no hope whatsoever that the Palestinians in Gaza will be saved if there is no massive intervention to stop Israel…the most peaceful way to stop Israel is to cut ties, economic ties, military ties and financial ties.”
Weapons makers, foreign states lavish $32 million on US think tanks: American research organizations often promote new weaponry that would benefit their donors.
$580 million in oil bets placed moments before Trump’s Iran post – FT: The highly concentrated flurry in Brent and WTI futures could signal possible insider knowledge that triggered a sell-off, the outlet has suggested. “It’s hard to prove causality,” a US broker strategist said, “but you have to wonder who would have been relatively aggressive at selling futures at that point, 15 minutes before Trump’s post.”
In interview, Gavin Newsom backpedals on his use of the word “apartheid”: Q: Do you regret using the word apartheid to describe Israel? A: I do in this context. I said it, and I referenced why I used it — a Tom Friedman article — in that same sentence where Tom used it in the context of the direction that Bibi is going. Q: Not the current state? A: Correct. And that is a legitimate concern I have, that I share with Tom…(read full interview here).
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
US treasury secretary says Washington has ‘plenty of money’ to fund [Israel’s] Iran war
Netanyahu wants to slow down US ceasefire negotiations
‘Substantial evidence’ of double-tap strike in killing of Gaza’s Hind Rajab
Why I resigned from the UN to join the Gaza Freedom Flotilla
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – MARCH 24, 2026*:
- At least 73,386 Palestinians killed, 184,612 injured – including:
- At least 72,263 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls), 171,912 injured in Gaza
- At least 1,133 killed (~232 children), 11,700 injured in the West Bank
*NOTE: Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 8,000 more are still buried under rubble (some sources put the number of missing as high as 14,000); 3,000 more are reportedly missing. Only the dead who are brought to hospitals are included in the official fatality count. Additionally, the numbers of injured are very conservative estimates.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – March 24, 2026: ~1,661 – including ~1,139** on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 472 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, about 52 military and civilians (by one count, there have been 59 victims) in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel (these numbers do not include deaths from the conflict with Lebanon or the war with Iran).
By one count, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 281 Palestinian journalists and media workers (as of Jan. 21, 2026); Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (other groups have tallied between 215 and 333 Palestinian journalists killed – depending on the criteria used).
**NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.
- Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
- ‘Forever live by the sword’: Understanding Israelis’ massive support for Iran war
- UN’s special rapporteur on human rights says Israel is systematically torturing Palestinians
- Trump White House plagiarized Iran war manifesto from Israel-aligned think tank
- Gaza says 6–10 patients die daily waiting for treatment abroad as Israel blocks medical evacuations
- ‘Substantial evidence’ of double-tap strike in killing of Gaza’s Hind Rajab
- ‘Do Not Want To Die For Israel’: Doubts About Trump’s Iran Strategy Spread Among Troops
- Instead of taking Joe Kent’s claims seriously, the media is disregarding him as an antisemite
- Joe Kent’s Explosive Interviews about his Resignation over the Iran War
- From Sde Teiman, the truth about Israel’s military justice system has been set free
- Child denied life-saving bone marrow transplant by Israel ‘because he is from Gaza’
- Raffi Berg: BBC Middle East Editor Exposed as CIA, Mossad Collaborator
- Jerusalem Archbishop Rebukes Netanyahu’s Statements on Christianity
- US to embed Palantir AI across entire military: Report
- Israel’s assassination game: Take all pragmatists off the board
